There can be something lonely about a sunny day, the way it almost forces you to carry a smile. Sunny days are meant to be a celebration, a vision of a world in which everything is in its rightful place. It’s easy to feel alienated when presented with such positivity, especially if you have no one with whom to soak it all in. Julian Jasper captures this on 2AM, Chinatown/I Don’t Mind, his debut EP, lacing bright, neon-tinged synthpop with a touch of melancholic longing.

The four-track effort brings to mind the early morning after a night spent soaking in the downtown lights. Opener “2AM, Chinatown” thumps and twinkles with the groove of that very time and place, while “I Don’t Mind” skips around a piano like the thoughts in your mind the following morning. “In the Lilacs” might be the EP’s grooviest track, a grungy slice of psychedelia that evokes the sound of a distant siren speeding down an empty highway. “Wait Until Dawn”, on the other hand, is pure longing, a romantic ode that bobs in and out of a dreamscape.

“Musically I wanted to write songs that are danceable but come off with the energy of a rock band,” Jasper told Consequence of Sound. “Its sort of like if The Beatles or Todd Rundgren wandered into Studio 54 and then were blasted into outer space via the ELO spaceship. From a lyrical perspective, I see them as romantic and introspective songs centered around being a loner.”

Ahead of the EP’s May 5th release via Misra Records, you can stream the entire thing below. Pre-orders are also going on here.

2AM, Chinatown/I Don’t Mind EP Cover Art:

2AM, Chinatown/I Don’t Mind Tracklist:
01. 2AM, Chinatown
02. I Don’t Mind
03. In The Lilacs
04. Wait Until Dawn